I'm contemplating getting Tales of Zestiria and/or Berseria.How good are the games? In particular, Zestiria's battle-system. (I'm assuming Berseria's is a refined/enhanced version of it) I recall seeing several boss battle videos that looked fun enough, but also reading about some huge issues with the battle system? How good is the English voice acting in either game? Is there an option for Japanes voices - even if it may be DLC? (I only ever looked at the Japanese PSN items for Zesteria)

And, if I were to forego Zestiria and play Berseria first, how confused would I be?

Spoiler: Berseria Spoiler?

I know it's a prequel to Zestiria.

Do I sort of HAVE to play Zestiria first to 'get' Berseria or is this a case where, if I read up some good info on the terms and world of the game, I can play just fine? (For example, I played Xillia 2 first. Some terms like Schism or that Plan from the first game confused me, until I played Xillia myself, but could still be enjoyed enough, without feeling too lost)

Also, for Zesteria and Berseria, I already know some spoilers, so... it's not like I'm completely 'blind' for the games. (One of the spoilers can be blamed on the PSN DLC items. WTH, Namco. You trying to pull a Pretty Cure?)

I'm contemplating getting Tales of Zestiria and/or Berseria.How good are the games? In particular, Zestiria's battle-system. (I'm assuming Berseria's is a refined/enhanced version of it) I recall seeing several boss battle videos that looked fun enough, but also reading about some huge issues with the battle system? How good is the English voice acting in either game? Is there an option for Japanes voices - even if it may be DLC? (I only ever looked at the Japanese PSN items for Zesteria)

And, if I were to forego Zestiria and play Berseria first, how confused would I be?

Spoiler: Berseria Spoiler?

I know it's a prequel to Zestiria.

Do I sort of HAVE to play Zestiria first to 'get' Berseria or is this a case where, if I read up some good info on the terms and world of the game, I can play just fine? (For example, I played Xillia 2 first. Some terms like Schism or that Plan from the first game confused me, until I played Xillia myself, but could still be enjoyed enough, without feeling too lost)

Also, for Zesteria and Berseria, I already know some spoilers, so... it's not like I'm completely 'blind' for the games. (One of the spoilers can be blamed on the PSN DLC items. WTH, Namco. You trying to pull a Pretty Cure?)

C-A

I mentioned my thoughts on Zestiria's gameplay and story. The tl;dr is that Graces did the battle system better, and the story isn't anything interesting, but it's still superior to the trainwreck that is the plot of the anime. Aside from that, Zestiria's characters just aren't fun to play as.

PS3 Berseria is Japan only. The PS4 and PC versions both have dual audio without the requirement for DLC. But aside from the child characters, a few minor characters, and Magilou's battle quotes, I'd say Berseria had the best English cast in a Tales game to date. That said, play it in Japanese anyways, because there is one character in the English dub that is universally agreed to have the most annoying voice in the series, and no one who used Japanese audio had any problems with them. There are a couple of noticeable typos in the English subtitles, especially during the endgame sidqeuests.

You can play Berseria without playing Zestiria and understand what's going on, but there are one or two plot moments that only really make sense if you've played Zestiria, and a few more that have additional meaning.

As for Berseria itself, I overall enjoyed my time with it, more so than Xillia and especially Zestiria, but I can't deny its flaws. The new control scheme requires some getting used to, The combat can swing between fun and frustrating depending on your luck with critical hits. The equipment system is weird, in that sometimes one item for a specific gear slot will increase only your defense, and the next item for that slot you find will only increase your arte attack. There's a system similar to Kitty Dispatch in Xillia 2, but since it operates on a 30 minute timer as opposed to 15 minutes in Xillia 2, it's easy to forget about. The last batch of sidequests before the very definitely absolute final dungeon don't always have an obvious indicators to finding the next step, and will require that you jump from city to city hoping you find an exclamation mark. And again, the dungeon designs suuuuck.

Story was... mostly good. It's nothing wholly original, but it's unique for the franchise. Just accept that you are not playing as the good guys. I did have a few problems with pacing, especially in the second third of the game. Also, you may notice some... superficial similarities between the party members and those of another JRPG that just happens to have a female protagonist.

Last, and least (or most, depending on who you ask), Velvet's belt fetish outfit and Magilou's book skirt. Velvet has her generic villager clothes unlocked from near the start, and I used that for the entirety of the game. Magilou doesn't have any such alternative in game, though she does get Arche's outfit as paid DLC, but that's not available as an individual purchase, instead requiring a costume bundle.

There's probably a lot more that I'm forgetting.

"It's never too late to learn that growing old doesn't have to mean growing up. Stay curious, stay weird, stay kind, and don't let anyone ever tell you you aren't smart or brave or worthy enough." -Stanford Pines, Gravity Falls

If I had to come down on one side or the other, I'd say to skip Zestiria. I thought the battle system was fun (although I was playing with a friend), and the characters had fun interactions, but the battle system had a bit too much going on and the characters and plot were flat. It's entertaining, but just not worth the dozens of hours it requires.

Also, you may notice some... superficial similarities between the party members and those of another JRPG that just happens to have a female protagonist.

I have no idea what JRPG you may be referring to. Then again, most characters end up reminding me of other characters.

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Velvet's belt fetish outfit and Magilou's book skirt. Velvet has her generic villager clothes unlocked from near the start, and I used that for the entirety of the game. Magilou doesn't have any such alternative in game, though she does get Arche's outfit as paid DLC, but that's not available as an individual purchase, instead requiring a costume bundle.

I love Arche! Depending on what the other costumes are, I might get them.But how many outfits do the characters have available to unlock without getting into DLC? Like, only two or three or is it like Xillia, where Milla and Jude got post-their-route outfits; with two outfits in total to unlock via sidequests, but the rest is nothing but DLC?

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If I had to come down on one side or the other, I'd say to skip Zestiria. I thought the battle system was fun (although I was playing with a friend), and the characters had fun interactions, but the battle system had a bit too much going on and the characters and plot were flat. It's entertaining, but just not worth the dozens of hours it requires.

I looked at a store today and saw that Zestiria on either console, and Berseria, both cost pretty much the same. Since Berseria seems to expand on... the Malicious? Or whatever it was called, who technically has a more important role in Zestiria, it might be good to play Berseria first. I ended up looking a bit into things and saw that, outside of Alisha and the Sheperd, your party consists of nothing but Seraphs in Zestiria...

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Just accept that you are not playing as the good guys.

Eh, doesn't bother me. I mean, a good part of Tales of the Abyss has me let the party do things that cause more damage than fix things.

But how many outfits do the characters have available to unlock without getting into DLC?

Each character has a jacketless version of their current outfit, usually unlocked by viewing certain side events, a pallette swap unlocked at the end of their specific sidequest, a waiter outfit unlocked from the waiter minigame, Normin outfits (the sentient plush toys) unlocked from the minigame that tests your damage per second, winter outfits which can be purchased for grade in the secret endgame village, and a towel obtained in the bonus dungeon which I implore you to ignore. The rest is DLC.

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seems to expand on... the Malicious? Or whatever it was called

Malevolence. I just call it Darkness.

"It's never too late to learn that growing old doesn't have to mean growing up. Stay curious, stay weird, stay kind, and don't let anyone ever tell you you aren't smart or brave or worthy enough." -Stanford Pines, Gravity Falls

I looked at a store today and saw that Zestiria on either console, and Berseria, both cost pretty much the same. Since Berseria seems to expand on... the Malicious? Or whatever it was called, who technically has a more important role in Zestiria, it might be good to play Berseria first. I ended up looking a bit into things and saw that, outside of Alisha and the Sheperd, your party consists of nothing but Seraphs in Zestiria...

*Rose (c'mon, it's waaaaay too late for that meme, CM)

Yeah, your party is 2 humans and 4 seraphs (1 of each element), and the active party is always the 2 humans and then 2 of the seraphs. You can freely switch the seraphs during combat, and they recover health when inactive. It's all part of the combat system.

I got Berseria and played about an hour into it. I think my main gripe right now is that the beginning, before something 'really happens' took a smidgeon too long. Even if it wasn't really that long, it felt like it... also, Scarlet Night. Reminds me of Blood Moons from Breath of the Wild.

Spoiler: Early Berseria Spoilers

At least, I escaped the prison.

You know, I figured Arthur would turn out to be a 'bad guy', but I kinda wish he hadn't. (At least, not turned into the Well-Intentioned Extremist) He's the protagonist's brother-in-law, that's not a relationship seen often in videogames amongst party members.

Plot Kid is dead. Yeah... I'd care about Laphicet's death if he were something OTHER than a simple Plot Device.

PS: I saw I could download a free catalog from the DLC menu! Like, any of the five shown so far. None of them seem that awesome to me, beyond the Tales outfits. But that's, you know, because it contains Natalia and Arche.

also, Scarlet Night. Reminds me of Blood Moons from Breath of the Wild.

I can feel my eye twitching at the mere mention of Blood Moons.

CatMuto wrote:

Spoiler: Early Berseria Spoilers

You know, I figured Arthur would turn out to be a 'bad guy', but I kinda wish he hadn't. (At least, not turned into the Well-Intentioned Extremist) He's the protagonist's brother-in-law, that's not a relationship seen often in videogames amongst party members.

Spoiler: nothing past what you've seen

Artorius being a Well-Intentioned Extremist who kills Plot Kid was shown off in the second trailer.

You know, the big revelation for Velvet was that her brother's death was not a full murder, but a willing sacrifice on his part... how can she see what went on and NOT consider it to have been a willing sacrifice? It's so obvious.

Oscar and Theresa have a... weird... um, 'vibe'... to their interactions.

You know what I would like to see in the type of protagonist that has become jaded after years of imprisonment/torture? For them to retain their humor. Heck, I wouldn't mind if they ended up being the sadistic-bastard-loves-to-cause-pain type of character. It would be entertaining to see. Nothing against Velvet, so far, just... her lack of humor is a bit... well, meh.It leads to her and Rokurou not having that much of an interesting dynamic between them - which is why I hope I get a third party member soon.

Spoiler: Seles

Am I weird in having this feeling that Seles is Celica, but turned into a spirit/malak? I mean, not that it matters now, given that she died to give me the sorcerer ring, but... it just felt that way.

I'm in... uh, where am I right now? I just entered... ah, the capital, Loerges.So far, I think my main issue is... the world in Berseria seems pretty... lacking? Boring? I'm not sure how to say this. The NPCs often talk about how much more peaceful life is after the Advent - I'll take their word for it, since all I have to go on for how the world was prior to that is the opening cinematic (which basically meant "Blood Moon + lots of dangerous monster noises") and what little I saw in the prologue (which at least showed me some of the monsters). I don't know the terror they experienced, nor do I feel like a good chunk of the world comes across as peaceful now. Probably because most of that stage-between-alterations was skipped.

I kind of want this Scarlet Night world. Maybe this has to do with playing Berseria first and not Zestiria, so maybe that game has a better explanation on what went on earlier? I doubt it, but it might make more sense...

I kind of want this Scarlet Night world. Maybe this has to do with playing Berseria first and not Zestiria, so maybe that game has a better explanation on what went on earlier? I doubt it, but it might make more sense...

I kind of want this Scarlet Night world. Maybe this has to do with playing Berseria first and not Zestiria, so maybe that game has a better explanation on what went on earlier? I doubt it, but it might make more sense...

From Zestiria's POV, Berseria is "what happened earlier"

I meant that Zestiria might explain better why Scarlet Nights happened, what they are and how and who and so on.

I'm doing those dumb 'sidequests' I have to do, before gaining the info I want from the shadow guild... I'm pretty sure I'm still very early into the game, but it feels like nothing has been happening. At least, nothing that seems really important. It just feels like Velvet is rushing towards Artorius, yet when there's a chance to encounter him, "No. I need a sword of reason and will to fight him". For someone who was just all about rushing at and killing him, she certainly changed her disposition.

Pretty sure I have clocked almost 10 hours into this game and my party is below level 15. From the (boss) battles I've seen so far, that seems to be on-par with what's going on. But it feels so low. Including the EXP I am getting from regular battles.

C-A

PS: Velvet is an idiot. Eleanor needs to join my party already. And I read that the 'Advent' cutscene was altered for the western release.

I kind of want this Scarlet Night world. Maybe this has to do with playing Berseria first and not Zestiria, so maybe that game has a better explanation on what went on earlier? I doubt it, but it might make more sense...

Before the prologue, very few people could see malaks or daemons, so if someone transformed, all anyone would see is that person moving erratically while claw marks appear out of nowhere. If daemons attacked a ship, people would just see someone getting dragged off by an invisible hand. In the present, the Abbey has made use of malaks to fight daemons and made themselves the official police/military/bodyguard hybrid of the world.

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I'm pretty sure I'm still very early into the game, but it feels like nothing has been happening. At least, nothing that seems really important.

Get used to that. Things will happen once you get past that part, and then things slow down. Rinse and repeat.

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And I read that the 'Advent' cutscene was altered for the western release.

Here's what the west got to see instead.

Spoiler:

Supposedly this is less graphic than the original, and prevents the game from getting an 18+ rating in Europe. Especially since this series has never shown a child getting stabbed before.

"It's never too late to learn that growing old doesn't have to mean growing up. Stay curious, stay weird, stay kind, and don't let anyone ever tell you you aren't smart or brave or worthy enough." -Stanford Pines, Gravity Falls

And I read that the 'Advent' cutscene was altered for the western release.

Here's what the west got to see instead.

Spoiler:

Supposedly this is less graphic than the original, and prevents the game from getting an 18+ rating in Europe. Especially since this series has never shown a child getting stabbed before.

Spoiler: Japanese Advent Cutscene

Apparently, you do get to see Laphicet actually getting stabbed by Arthur's sword... which makes it more... iconic/ironic that Velvet stabs him back with his own sword, later? Though, until I read it, I didn't realize that Arthur hacked off Velvet's arm in the cutscene! If anything, I thought he might have stabbed at her hand.

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In the present, the Abbey has made use of malaks to fight daemons and made themselves the official police/military/bodyguard hybrid of the world.

So, Scarlet Night is just what it got called 10 years ago, when people are now able to see daemons?

Zestiria by itself succeeded in making me feel absolutely nothing throughout the whole story, except for the presentation surrounding one boss fight. Then the anime adaptation came out and I realized it's not as bad as it could have been.

Spoiler: spoilery anime stuff

People called Sorey another generic goody-two-shoes archetype, and while I agreed at first, he does have an arc. He starts out idealistic, taking up the role of Shepard without really questioning it. At first, he does what he needs to, before he gets his ass handed to him by Heldalf. From there, the story shifts to the trials, and while people call those filler, they're important for Sorey's arc. Each one has him forced to look at his own morals in a new light. This all culminates when he decides that Heldalf is beyond saving, that he has to kill him to reduce the burden on the world, and that his comrades may not make it through the fight.

Compare this to the anime where Sorey just does stuff and succeeds without much effort. So riveting.

Oh, but it gets worse. Somewhere on this thread I complained about how the Eizen subplot was handled. At first, the anime tries to fix it by having Sorey actually ask someone about purifying dragons. This improvement is followed several episodes later with Sorey purifying a dragon. How did he do it? "Because no one ever bothered trying to." Bullshit, all he did was stand there and hold his sword real firm, reducing the need for an actual fight scene during the part that everyone was looking forward to. Not to mention Berseria confirms that dragons can't be purified. And after all this, he still didn't purify Eizen. He just does his thing at the end, and completely forgets about him.

Oh, but the worst part, the worst part can be summed up in two words: Alisha Diphda. I get that some fans were disappointed that Alisha's role wasn't as big as it could have been in the game. So , the anime tried to give more focus to Alisha, and at first, people really liked it. Then there was a backlash, "Too much Alisha!" they said. She almost had more screentime than Sorey, and ultimately she's the reason I assume that anime Sorey lacked any semblance of an arc.

Sorry, this just turned into a rant about the anime.

And before I forget, as soon as you get access to ship travel, make sure to head for the first Class 4 Island. You get an item that unlocks shortcut artes.

"It's never too late to learn that growing old doesn't have to mean growing up. Stay curious, stay weird, stay kind, and don't let anyone ever tell you you aren't smart or brave or worthy enough." -Stanford Pines, Gravity Falls

By ship travel you mean the expeditions or... actually being able to traverse the world without being restricted?

So, Magilou finally joined my party. Horray. She still seems kind of anoying... I was hoping Eleanor would join shortly after, too, but guess I'll have to wait. Benifu bugs me, now, too.

Spoiler: The Protagonists Are 'Monsters'

You know, how convenient that the party was sent to murder this guy in cold blood, but before they could do it, he not only turned into a demon, but was also killed by a griphon. The deed is done, but not by their hands. Come on, if I'm supposed to believe that my party is nothing but monsters, SHOW me and have them DO things that actually mean doing horrible things! As it is, Velvet seems to have only eaten demons while imprisoned to stay alive; Rokurou..... I don't know what he's done bad, so far. The rest seem... pointless and not-at-all-bad.

escaped from prison by using the other prisoners as meat shields, destroyed the port of a town that survives on trade alone, kidnapped a child and made him her obedient soldier, absolutely demolished a key defensive point, and destroyed a shipment of medicine. Yes, it's addictive, but it still worked. Not to mention she is literally feeding off of the souls of her enemies to get stronger. Also Rokurou killed a guy because he held his sword a certain way and Eizen probably did pirate things.

"It's never too late to learn that growing old doesn't have to mean growing up. Stay curious, stay weird, stay kind, and don't let anyone ever tell you you aren't smart or brave or worthy enough." -Stanford Pines, Gravity Falls

I was at the point of leaving Islegand and heading for Southgand, but getting sidetracked because of plot-illness. When do I get to the point where Velvet actually begins to undergo character development? Her demeanor bugs me a bit because she comes off as more talk than walk. "If you annoy me, I'll eat you", then do so, Velvet! Just eat Magilou. She's more tolerable once she actually joins your party, but I still don't like to hear a word from her. Skits that involve her feel so... unnecessarily stretched long.

When I heard Shigure talk (I play with Japanese voices... of course), I was so confused because I knew it. Couldn't place it, though. Looked him up - Kazuya Nakai. He's Wakka from Final Fantasy X. And Shiba from TokiMemo Girl's Side 2. Morghim is awesome. Because she's a cat.

I also played a tiny bit of Zestiria before initializing my PS4. Hearing Sorey's name in Japanese confuses me a bit. But I did get the Idolm@ster outfits for the girls because... well, I like those outfits. Though why does Alisha get the chance to wear Rose's Haruka outfit, too, if her own is Chihaya? Does this mean that the two Seraph women can wear each other's outfits, too?

Pretty sure the line was "If you get in my way, I'll eat you." If Velvet ate everyone who annoyed her, she'd have been preparing Steamed Rokurou by the six hour mark. Still, if you're at that part of the story, then Velvet should have at least started to grow a sense of humor.

Rose can wear Alisha's outfits so people don't feel cheated that they purchased outfits for someone who exits the plot before the game is a third over. The two seraph women can't wear each other's outfits.

"It's never too late to learn that growing old doesn't have to mean growing up. Stay curious, stay weird, stay kind, and don't let anyone ever tell you you aren't smart or brave or worthy enough." -Stanford Pines, Gravity Falls

Pretty sure the line was "If you get in my way, I'll eat you." If Velvet ate everyone who annoyed her, she'd have been preparing Steamed Rokurou by the six hour mark. Still, if you're at that part of the story, then Velvet should have at least started to grow a sense of humor.

She has warmed up a bit, especially towards Laphicet - who I wish would get rid of that butt-ugly, black collar. But I meant more...

Spoiler: Velvet Spoiler

The shock she gets when learning the truth of Laphi's death and Laphicet pulling her out of her deep hole, leaving her open to actually deal with the stuff she's done by now.

Speaking of Velvet, I think she bugs me because the stuff you mentioned earlier - of the bad things she's done - is not that big. I mean, everything she does has long-term consequences or ones that aren't shown. The worst she has done was her actions during the Advent and you can easily claim that was based on pure rage fueling her and not knowing what she was actually attacking.

Spoiler: Velvet's Actions

We never see the prisoners she gave the option to riot really dying; it's mostly implied that they all get overpowered and killed. Hellawes kind of brought it upon themselves - as Dyle says, their little smuggling ring was obvious and successful, so the Abbey was bound to find out; that's what they get for greed - and they can export/import other stuff. The fortress Voltigern doesn't appear to be that badly damaged; it can be fixed.

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Rose can wear Alisha's outfits so people don't feel cheated that they purchased outfits for someone who exits the plot before the game is a third over. The two seraph women can't wear each other's outfits.

Awww, why can't I put the whitehaired one in the orange outfit? Also, what?

Spoiler: Rose?

Does Rose die? I know Denzel does - and gets replaced by Zaveid - but Rose?

C-A

PS: I also read a bit about what happens in the bonus dungeon/getting the towel costumes... that's really dumb.

Of course. The Im@s girl I like the most is the one whose costume will be the least seen...

Since initializing my PS4 resulted in losing my file, I had to restart Berseria. Whatever; I wasn't that far along - I can tell now, since I am getting close to where I originally left off. I'm playing on Moderate now and Velvet in her villager attire... it's so weird to see her in all-black in cutscenes and thinking, "Who is that? Oh. Right. Velvet." I also learned the horror and terror that is Pixie enemies.

C-A

PS: By now, I am just about to enter Haria. And, so far, my favorite character is Eleanor. And spirit Laphicet, because he's just so cute. Kind of wish you could remove the headband of Eleanor's Natalia outfit, but... minor. I did get the pirate outfits, but I don't know if I should get the menageria clothes or the Im@s ones. Velvet's Im@s outfit is cool; I like the Menageria outfits, but I don't really care for the Japanese or 'fairy/Alice in Wonderland' attire. (Yes, Velvet has breasts. Do we HAVE to give her an absolute cleavage? It's not like I've seen prettier boobs before.)

I have seen Innominat, as you can tell. Holy shit, I am supposed to feel threatened by the suppessor when Innominat looks like THAT? Puhlease. Alex from Clockwork Orange looked more threatening in his fat-suit and baggy diapers.

Spoiler: Innominat - Big Spoiler!

If they are trying to evoke the image of Mithos, I have to disappoint them. Mithos looked more threatening than that.

And Velvet's freak-out is bugging me. I am so glad that Eleanor slapped her. I know that the words "whining" and similar will be used on Velvet during the coming scenes. I am looking forward to it because I think she needs to get her head well-washed.

I am merely at the do-sidequests-before-final-battle point in Berseria... so far, the game seems "Meh" to me. It has some nice ideas and is so far prior to Zestiria that I am not really all that lost about mythology. But I feel like Velvet is very one-dimensional for a long section of the game, to the point that when I did get to see some real character development from her, I realize by now that I the post-shock-to-endgame section is super fast. Either that or it feels that way, because Berseria has some serious pacing issues.

Music is nice enough, I suppose. I love the Dual Audio option, though I don't know anything about the English voices.

Yeah, the pacing is the main issue I have with Bears. They spend so much time on

Spoiler:

the Therion hunt while the God Generals Abbey Legates only show up at the beginning and the end

and when you're done with that, it's a sprint to the end.

I love the full version of Velvet's theme, I think it's my favorite character leitmotif in the series. I also love how the legates each have their own theme during their final encounters. The final boss music was a bit of a letdown, though. I remember turning down the volume and putting on the final boss music from FFXIV Heavensward.

What do you think of the other characters?

Side-note, I took another look at Tales of the Rays (the mobile game) and Dist the Runny made an event appearance. That's neat.

Spoiler: but they also used this design for his obligatory mech fight

"It's never too late to learn that growing old doesn't have to mean growing up. Stay curious, stay weird, stay kind, and don't let anyone ever tell you you aren't smart or brave or worthy enough." -Stanford Pines, Gravity Falls

Velvet's theme is nice, but I have the feeling they began to use it a little too often after the visit to Aball.

Unfortunately, most of the characters are not good at standing out or interesting on their own. Rokurou and Eizen are hit pretty hard with this; Rokurou is a fun guy, but he is pretty single-minded about his swordfighting and his feud with Shigure. Eizen feels like they are trying to make him out a lot funnier (comedically serious) than he actually is and it seems odd. I've mentioned before that I really, really don't like Magilou because she is very, very loud, very obnoxious to me and takes way too long to actually join my party and become useful, which makes her character flaws worse.If the obnoxious character is not pulling their weight, why do I have to have them follow me around?

But Magilou has moments, especially after the Aball visit, where she is serious. And I wish she'd be like this more because it's tolerable; it's a good balance. Serious about the big things, but still gives off a fun little comment. Unfortunately, this doesn't translate to the skits... which I think are way too many of. Especially plot-related ones. Even the ones I haven't seen, I'm barely listening anymore. I read the line, press X to keep going and getting rid of the skit.Too many skits, not enough cutscenes of the models doing things.

I can understand doing that in, like, Symphonia because Symphonia's models' facial expressions were... stiff, at times. But the graphics and models have improved since, so the excuse or explanation of Skits offering more emotional expressions or movements doesn't work. Especially when the plot-scenes that do have the models doing all the talking have a good range of expressions and movements going on.

Eleanor and Laphicet are my favorites, so far. I feel like Laphicet is trying a little too hard to be 'tough guy, I'm not a kid anymore' during the end-game... but Eleanor has a good arc going. And she is the only one out of the group that I'd honestly call 'good', without being too preachy or feeling fake. She's a bit like Velvet, minus the brokenness-leads-to-murderous-revenge-desire.

Spoiler: Spoilers Aspects Of Characters And Plot

I read that the deaths of Oscar and Theresa were super sad and really a very emotional moment in the game, especially with Velvet feeling like she has become just as horrible a person as Artorius. As it is, the scenes showing Teresa opening up a bit is a little... rushed and on-the-nose. Her Therion-design was cool, though.But the battle against her, and the one against Oscar, were not that amazing. I did see the Mystic Artes, so that Trophy is going well. Their death scenes were nowhere near as sweet as I had expected them to be. And, frankly, the way they seemed almost incestuous with each other made it come across as more creepy than sweet.

The battle against Shigure was disappointing. This is the battle! The time where he won't use any restraints! The epic showdown of Brother VS Brother...! I don't think I even had one character die during the battle. And I was not overleveled. Melchior's battle was meh... Glad I killed him, that's all.

I know that Eleanor does become obsessed with revenge against the Troll demon that killed her mother, but the main aspect of her characterization is not based on that. She held blind beliefs, but gets confronted by the harsh truth and learns to deal with it, but without sinking down the opposite end; she still wants to save humanity the way she thought the Abbey would, but tries to find her own way of doing so.

Velvet actually becomes almost boring once the truth sets into her. I don't like how she was one-thought-driven for most of the game, but after, she seems to have gotten over her shock almost instantly. And practically reverts back to her own personality, who was just a nice girl next door. You know, just because your desire for revenge has been proven wrong, doesn't mean you should become bland bread.

Speaking of the earthpulse events, I heard that things got really good in terms of quality at that point. And I was looking forward to, perhaps, seeing a prolonged, animated cutscene of Arotirus meeting Celica; her dying; as well as Laphicet's sacrifice, but... nope! Walk around the earthpulse. Walk. walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, maybe there's a cutscene here. Yay. Repeat walking. And walking. Until the next cutscene.I am happy that Laphicet told Velvet to quit her whining.

Something I noticed with Berseria, though, is that Namco seems to make plot twists extremely obvious... but don't reveal them until much later, when it turns out that the characters imply, or outright say, that they knew the twist all allong. Look, just because your characters notice instantly and DON'T say anything about it, doesn't make the twist better.

Man, what happened to Namco? They used to have really awesome stories; sure, maybe not the best with some plot twists, but they still did a good job. Now... pacing issues are worse than ever; the characters aren't as deep anymore; and plot twists are telegraphed miles away. I already noticed this with Graces, but Berseria just seems to make it more obvious.

Though, for Zestiria, I learned that Takehito Koyasu voices Lunarre. As in, Jade. Yup! I was surprised because he did a really good job at making Lunarre not sound like him at all. Good job, Koyasu!

Just finished Tales of Berseria, my first game of the franchise. I liked it. It wasn't anything extraordinary, and I doubt I'll go back to it now that I've beaten it, but I still liked it. Some of the characters could've used a lot more development (Rokurou's arc is incredibly disappointing, and Eizen doesn't do much outside of his own arc) but I really liked Velvet, Laphicet, Magilou, and Eleanor in particular. The battle system was fun, but it's not anything I'll be remembering.

I might pick up Zestiria if I find it really cheap, but if not I'm just gonna hold out until Vesperia Remastered. It seems like a cool, yet fairly vanilla, franchise.

They say you 'need' to play Berseria to really understand everything in Zestiria... eh, I didn't go through all of Zestiria because it IS inferior in its aspects to Berseria, but from what I've read, I would be just as confused/full of knowledge about Zestiria, regardless of having played Berseria first. But yes, Zestiria... I would say is not worth it to play yourself. Biggest factor being that it runs at lower FPS, which is just... you have no excuse as Bandai Namco to do that in this technological age. I would more suggest to watch a playthrough or so.I do like the dynamic between Sorey and Mikleo.

I went back to playing Zestiria. Currently, I'm just about to head to Marlind.I was gonna play on Hard, not only to unlock the higher difficulties, but also because I saw you got Trophies for completing certain areas on Hard without retrying (or on a 2nd Playthrough. Uh, yeah, I am already appalled at seeing the final boss has SEVERAL trophies associated, all with beating it without retrying on certain difficulties or on your 2nd/3rd/4th and 5th playthrough!)

Well, that stupid snake in the dungeon made me realize that either the game is very unfairly balanced on higher difficulties, or the battle system still makes no bloody sense to me in terms of damage. I know that levels technically are not important, it all relies on your equipment... so, I am trying to learn that, including making sure to get the equipment proficiency up, and getting the skill sheet to have things that seem decent. (Like +12% Arte Defense on Sorey)

I encountered Zaveid... he's a jerk. I already barely tolerated him in Berseria, and his personality was vastly different, but he was also a mere moderately-important NPC.

And Edna's design is nice, but I already think she's kinda annoying."Using my first name, when we've barely been introduced to each other? How disrespectful." YOU DON'T HAVE LAST NAMES, EDNA!

Oh, and I forgot to mention. This dumb scene at the washed away bridge, where Lailah says Sorey needs to be careful about using a seraphim's powers in front of other people because they might hate him for it. Uh, did I miss something? The legend of the Sheperd - the person who is so super special awesomee that he can USE the powers of seraphim - is supposed to be seen as terrifying when he uses the powers of seraphim? Which the legends say he can use? Did we forget that? And then the game asked me TWICE if I was SURE I wanted to perform the seraphim power-up right now. Why bother asking? I doubt choosing "no" would have changed anything.

Can't say I remember much of my playthrough, but I do remember the equipment system being borked. One item for a certain gear slot will boost one stat, while the next item for that slot boosts a different stat. The random skills each item has were more important, you wanted to try to get the right alignment of skills that would trigger the group skills. But that also means grinding for the same items multiple times just to make them effective, then doing the same thing for the next set of items about two dungeons later. At some point I said "screw it" and turned down the difficulty.

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And Edna's design is nice, but I already think she's kinda annoying."Using my first name, when we've barely been introduced to each other? How disrespectful." YOU DON'T HAVE LAST NAMES, EDNA!

That's the joke.

"It's never too late to learn that growing old doesn't have to mean growing up. Stay curious, stay weird, stay kind, and don't let anyone ever tell you you aren't smart or brave or worthy enough." -Stanford Pines, Gravity Falls

I just completed the museum and defeated the Drake.When do I get Rose into my party? I'm getting sick and tired of Alisha being kind of a drag.

Y'know, I really want to enjoy this game, and want to play it, but several aspects of it are so long... I know people complained about Alisha shilled as the deuteragonist, when she disappears from my party and all that, but I think I would've preferred to not get a secondary human character, compared to getting this useless sack.

And looking at what the battle system is like here (Rose Solo VS all Arc 1 Bosses), it seems like a battle system more designed for a single character, not a party. Though the battle system is, apparently, based on Graces'. I dunno, I recall Graces' battle system, and it was better than this.

And how do titles work? Do I get anything for 'maxing' them? How do I increase them? (Grade? EXP?)If the game was a bit better at explaining its battle system and mechanics less vaguely, it would certainly be helpful...

That video is from a channel dedicated to doing solo runs of Tales of bosses. They're likely using a NG+ run with carried over skills/levels/equipment. Fairly certain someone else did the same with Genis in Symphonia.

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And how do titles work? Do I get anything for 'maxing' them? How do I increase them? (Grade? EXP?)

Titles level up with experience. Max title level increases by completing certain story events. I don't remember much else, but here's a more detailed explanation.

"It's never too late to learn that growing old doesn't have to mean growing up. Stay curious, stay weird, stay kind, and don't let anyone ever tell you you aren't smart or brave or worthy enough." -Stanford Pines, Gravity Falls

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